Projects to see me through winter lockdown

 Today is Blue Monday, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. And this year surely has to be one of the most depressing on the record. Coronavirus is frightening. Lockdown is boring. The weather is generally dull and dismal - apart from a few rare days, we haven't had beautiful sunny frosty mornings, or even snow which would be exciting, and no problem as we're stuck at home - and spring seems a long way off. But even stuck at home I can decide to live a little differently.

I usually start the year with a list of resolutions, what I would like to achieve in the coming months but they often tend to be vague concepts rather than concrete plans. This year I feel I need something a little more specific than 'do art' or 'get fit', and I need something to do now, not when summer comes round. 

So I've replaced 'eat healthier' with 'join in Veganuary'. The rules are simple - avoid meat and dairy - and there's a finite length to it. Meals take more planning, to avoid pumpkin chili everyday, and longer to cook, which is good as it fills the day. 

It's probably not much healthier though, despite the soups for lunch, because there's no limit on sugar, and experimenting with vegan cake recipes is a good way to spend a damp afternoon.

As a sort of follow on to this I've decided, later than everyone else of course, to set up a sour dough culture. Two days in it isn't looking great, but there's time yet, and importantly it adds another thing which must be done each day*.

'Get fitter' has been replaced by 'up the step count'. There was a dreadful point towards the end of the first lockdown when I realised I was hardly taking more than a thousand steps a day! I don't want to fall into this laziness again. The weather isn't appealing for getting out and about right now, though I have some nice new 'sale' boots to wear, and my average step count has been dropping, but I can always add in a few minutes of zumba-style antics during the day, or just walk up and down the hallway for 250 steps every hour when prompted. 

Christmas marked a point where a lot of my knitting and sewing projects were finished, so after a week or so of laziness I've settled on what next. First a pair of gloves from Christmas present yarn, then a hat or scarf to match. 

Alongside, as knitting is an evening occupation, a skirt renovation, turning long and full, into shorter and somewhat tighter to wear with leggings. Another of my Christmas presents was a scarf-dying kit, but that's going to wait for milder weather as I think I'll do the messiest bits outside. And for later on in Spring, I've a grow-your-own-snowman-pumpkin' kit to start growing. 

I knit mostly while watching TV so, looking for a lengthy challenge, I've started rewatching Better Call Saul. That's a lot of episodes so should last for a few weeks. And then I'll follow it with Breaking Bad. The two don't quite join up yet, but they almost do. And for something more cheerful, I'm going to watch Frasier re-runs, if I can find it streaming somewhere.

For dark afternoons, I've taken up an old winter pastime - playing on the Wii, specifically Lego Lord of the Rings. Again, it takes a while, especially if the known bug (collecting things in the wrong order in the Weathertop section) kicks in and I have to start back at the beginning. When the days start to get longer, I'll probably abandon the little hobbits on their way to Mount Doom and sit out in the garden but fro now it fills a dead space in the day.

Hopefully by the end of lockdown I'll be able to put a 'completed' tick against most of the items on my list, but till then they'll keep me occupied.

Above all I want to be positive in my outlook on life.

*the sourdough DID get going and has turned out brilliantly.